The New Contented Little Baby Book: The Secret to Calm and Confident Parenting

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In 2004 Gina recognised that, despite the wealth of parenting information available, many mothers still felt isolated. In an effort to fill the gap, Gina launched ContentedBaby.com and, in the process, created a wonderful, supportive and dynamic on-line community. One UK magazine states in their review " Ford's books are like operating manuals, pointing out that although Ford worked as a maternity nurse she herself has no children of her own". Gina’s first appointment was to help a mother whose baby had sleeping problems and Gina’s years of hands-on experience led her to solve this particular family’s problems within a few weeks. On the strength of this gift with babies, and her proven practical ability, she was recommended to other families and her reputation escalated. For years she was one of the most sought-after maternity nurses, specialising in caring for newborn babies and toddlers with serious sleeping and feeding problems. She would live with families for anything from two weeks to six months, and was on duty 24 hours a day, six days a week. During this period Gina was nominated by Harpers & Queen as one of the top ten maternity nurses in the country. She worked in many parts of the world with hundreds of different families, from leading lawyers and high-flying bankers to newspaper editors and other media personalities. I found that the early feeding schedules in this book were not able to satisfy our baby, and so I breastfed more on-demand (my doc's rec) for the first 6 months, instead of implementing Gina Ford's schedules. That said, after 3 months, I began to "concentrate" a little more on the schedules with the feedings, but still didn't keep exclusively to them: if my baby was hungry in between, I just breast-fed her a bit. Five Life commissioned a programme called Gina Ford: Who Are You To Tell Us?, which aired on 4 March 2007. [7] Mumsnet libel [ edit ]

Gina believed passionately in not only nurturing the child, for which she had a particular talent, but also ensuring that the mother was well cared for too.

The book has some immensely helpful info about breastfeeding, such as, "Babies between one week and six weeks usually need at least 30 minutes to reach the hind milk." (p. 53) And "If you change breasts too soon he will end up getting too much fore milk, which is one of the main causes of babies never seeming satisfied and suffering from colic." (p 56) "If he is fed enough during the day he will be much more likely to got to sleep for longer periods between feeds in the night." (p 57) The book also discusses the popular societal trend for bottle-feeding and formula feeding that "became well established in the fifties and sixties..." And this was quite helpful info, since our baby's grandmothers were keen to formula-feed, while my choice was to exclusively breastfeed. In response to criticism levied against her, Ford suggests that the 25% market share of parenting books that her publications enjoy is proof that her methods do not harm children. [5] Projects [ edit ] Many think the book is just about ‘controlled crying’. We seldom had to use this and it is hard to do, but Gina gives clear guidelines on how to manage it while ensuring your child feels secure and loved. In answer to criticism about her methods she writes, "I would never advise that young babies should be left to cry for lengthy periods of time to get themselves to sleep. I do stress that some overtired babies will fight sleep and they should be allowed 5-10 minutes' 'crying down' period." Ford writes further on this subject in her book. One of the most helpful things to know from this book: "No baby under 4 months should be allowed to stay awake for longer than two hours at a stretch. Care should also be taken not to overstimulate the baby 30 minutes prior to being put to bed." (p 41)

In two recent surveys the Daily Mail listed Gina as one of the most influential women in the field of health in Britain today and The Times listed her as one of the top fifty people who influence the way we eat, exercise and think about ourselves. The Independent newspaper, in the feature ‘Power of one’, describes her determination to change attitudes of parenting this century. She is still as hands-on as ever, which allows her to have a unique and sympathetic understanding of the problems parents face and, more importantly, how they might solve them. The introduction of solid foods was too early for us in this book. We waited til 6 months to introduce solid foods with our baby. But then we took Gina Ford's advice on the topic, with much success. With detailed, prescriptive information on everything parents need to know, this book includes chapters on: Whether you are expecting your first child, or are experiencing difficulties with an older baby, this comprehensive guide contains all the expert guidance you need to help your baby feed and sleep well. Read more Details By creating routines that match a growing baby's innate natural rhythms, Gina prevents the hunger, overtiredness and colic that can lead to excessive crying. Babies who are settled into Gina's gentle routines are happy and contented because their needs for food and sleep are appropriately met and they should sleep for their longest spell at night from an early age.Gina’s work took her first to London and then overseas but, wherever she was, she still found herself drawn to families and called upon to baby-sit or take on the role of temporary nanny. After several years Gina returned to England and, given her skill and passion for working with children, decided to pursue a new career in childcare. Gina Ford (born c. 1960) is a British author of childcare books in the United Kingdom and a former maternity nurse who has cared for over 300 babies during her career. [1] Ford's 1999 book The Contented Little Baby Book advocates a daily routine for both the baby and the parents, with the day divided up into very precise slots. In 2004, the BBC commissioned a series from Outline Productions called Gina Ford's Baby School, using Big Brother-style methods to oversee the progress of newborn babies. In January 2005, Ford had a meeting with BBC and Outline Productions, and refused to agree to certain reality-style aspects of the format. With only a few weeks before filming, Ford pulled out and was replaced by Dr Tanya Byron. [6]

Gina Ford is the Delia Smith of parenting...while Delia tells you how to make the perfect omelette, Gina Ford in her baby-care manual The Contented Little Baby Book, draws on 30 years' experience to tell you how to nurture the perfectly happy baby. YOU Magazine Learn the secret to getting your baby to sleep through the night--so you can get the rest you need. You’ve heard horror stories about babies who cry constantly, need to eat every two hours, and never learn to sleep through the night. And now, whenever you think about your soon-to-be-born bundle of joy, you can’t help wondering how you’re going to manage those two a.m. feedings and non-stop crying jags--and how you’re going to live your already-hectic life on little (or no) sleep. Relax! If you follow the practical, real-life advice in The Contented Little Baby Book, your baby should be sleeping through the night at around six to ten weeks. You’ll learn why you shouldn’t follow the conventional “feed on demand” advice. You’ll understand why even older babies can benefit from sleeping and eating schedules. And soon you’ll have what every parent wants--a happy, healthy, contented little baby. Drawing on twelve years of experience researching and studying the natural sleep rhythms and feeding patterns of young babies, one of Britain’s top maternity nurses shows you how to… * Recognize the difference between hunger and tiredness

As Gina’s reputation grew, she was approached by a number of publishers, and in 1999 she wrote her first book, The Contented Little Baby Book. It was a runaway success, largely due to enthusiastic personal recommendation, its matter-of-fact style and practical approach appealing to fathers and mothers alike. With a new edition of the book published in 2006, it continues to be the bestselling parenting book in the UK, with sales of over half a million copies to date. It has also been published in the US and in several foreign language editions including Spanish, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, Russian and Chinese. Since the success of her first book, Gina has gone on to write a further nine books and co-written two others, covering subjects such as Weaning, Feeding, Sleeping, Potty Training and Twins, as well as the popular Ella and Tom series of children’s books. Gina Ford has helped thousands of families resolve challenges over the years and her bestselling New Contented Little Baby Book has sold over 1 million copies around the world. Contented Little Baby is now a lifestyle choice for millions of people around the world. But part of this success is down to the fact that Gina still makes a point of talking directly to many mothers every week. This book stressed me out. I read it and then tried to follow the schedules but it was too stringent!!! You really have to be dedicated to a strict schedule and not leaving your house in the first 3 months, which I wasn't willing to do. It does have some good tips, but it's just too rigid for my lifestyle. Recommended for those who like to follow a strict schedule and plan. (Which I thought I was, but to stay home all day so child could sleep in his crib for all naps was just too much for me!)